A good starting source will save time by explaining key concepts and rules, by citing and analyzing important cases, statutes and regulations, and by introducing common terms for your issue that will help you draft better online searches.
The best way to start legal research is with secondary sources — materials that explain and analyze the law. Most legal secondary sources have extensive citations to primary authority, such as cases, statutes, and regulations. Here are some of the secondary sources that can help you make a good start with many legal research projects:
Legal encyclopedias, such as AmJur or CalJur.
Legal encyclopedias are useful for a quick overview if you're completely unfamiliar with a legal topic.
Advantage: You'll quickly gain a basic understanding of the area of law and its terminology. You can then move on to more detailed sources.
Practice guides, treatises, law review articles, or ALR annotations.
Useful once you have basic familiarity with the legal topic.
Advantage: You'll deepen your expertise and find cites to relevant cases, statutes, and regulations.
Comprehensive looseleaf services (online).
Useful if you're already an expert on your topic and are ready to seek specific citations relevant to your narrow issue. Kahn Law Library does not collect print looseleaf volumes.
Advantage: You'll find extensive and well-organized selections of primary authority.
To find "Nutshells," search the online catalog by key word. Include nutshell in your search (e.g., bankruptcy and nutshell). Nutshells covering the 1L doctrinal courses are available in print in the Reserve section.
Search the library catalog by key word. Enter terms describing your topic (e.g., constitutional law). Many hornbooks and study aids are located in the "Reserve" section of the library. Treatises from different publishers are available through different databases available to all students and faculty. Use one or all of the following databases to retrieve a desired treatise.
Search these legal encyclopedias online, or use their A-to-Z keyword/subject indexes to see if there are sections on your topic:
Law review articles will contain plentiful footnotes citing primary authority and useful overviews of very specific legal topics.
Full-Text Tools for Finding Law Review Articles
This is the most comprehensive, full-text coverage of all United States law reviews and journals database.
ALR ("American Law Reports") annotations survey and cite to the law of all state and federal jurisdictions on selected state and federal legal topics. You can search ALR annotations in the American Law Reports sources on Westlaw Precision or on Lexis+.
adv: court or circuit /s split and discrim!Date restrictions can be problematic in ALR. Instead, once you have broad results, use "Search within results," and use search terms for the topics or areas of law that interest you to narrow your results.